BEST PRACTICES An Educational Resource for Students with Hearing Loss: Best Practices: An Educational Resource For Students with Hearing Loss

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Best Practices: An Educational Resource For Students with Hearing Loss

Welcome to a best practices resource intended to support teachers, parents and T.A.'s that are working with students who have a hearing loss.The following website has a series of informative resources that will hopefully support you in a degree of different areas: Below you will find a variety of topics and some best practices for assisting a student who has a hearing loss. The topics covered are:

Information about the Ear and Hearing Loss
Classroom Stratagies Creating an acoustically sound and cohesive learning environment
Sign Language and Total Communication Comparing ASL and signed English/ The Three Little Pigs in Signed English and Auditory Verbal techniques
Technology FM system/ Sound Field and Hearing aids

You will also find information on a Cochlear Implant, Information, an Audiogram, Causes of hearing loss and a variety of website links for further exploration of topics.

What is a Cochlear Implant?

A cochlear implant is a surgically implanted electronic device that can provide hearing for profoundly deaf people. Part of the device is surgically implanted into the inner ear and part is worn externally. The device stimulates the auditory or hearing nerve directly bypassing the damaged part or inner ear or cochlea.
There are two components to a cochlear implant, an externally worn microphone and processor and the internal electrode array. The microphone picks up sounds near the ear level and sends it to the speech processor. The speech processor takes the acoustic signal and codes it for speech electrically. The signal is sent to the transmitter worn on the head where it is then sent through the skin to the implanted device. Under the skin, the receiver decodes the signal and sends it to the electrode array. The electrode group distributes the signal and stimulates the nerve endings in the cochlea, producing nerve impulses. The impulses are sent to the brain where they are interpreted as sound.

What is an Audiogram?

A graph is used to record the results of a persons hearing test. Results will show how loud a sound must be before the person is able to hear it. The sound is measured according to pitch (frequency) and loudness (decibel) level. The instrument used to test a persons hearing is called an audiometer

What do they tell us?

An audiogram is a graph that is used to show the results of a hearing test. The graph will show hearing levels for the right ear and the left ear. This means that the audiologist has tested your child’s hearing and has indicated on the graph the decibel level at which your child is able to detect a sound at different frequencies.

How to read an audiogram

The numbers across the top of the graph show the frequency or pitch of sounds.
The numbers along the side of the graph show the decibel or loudness levels of sound.
The pictures and letters show you the loudness and pitch of sounds in our environment and sounds in our speech. The degrees or amounts of hearing loss are shown on the right side of the chart.

EAROBICS

Earobics is a colourful and interactive computer game that is designed to be educational and fun to play. The games feature friendly characters that guide the user through the learning process. A play-by-play score provides immediate feedback and motivation for the student. It teaches the fundamental listening and sound awareness skills that
research has proven to be the best predictors of reading success. It has sound discrimination, auditory memory, teaches rhyming sound patterns, blends sounds into syllables and syllables into words.